2002 Landmark LGBT Ordinance in New Hope, Pa. – Geri Delivtch

New Hope, Pennsylvania is a great place to visit and a wonderful small town in which to live and be actively involved as an LGBT member of the community. LGBT citizens hold and have held leadership roles in the community, serving as Presidents of the following: New Hope Borough Council, New Hope-Solebury School Board, New Hope Historical Society, New Hope-Solebury Library, and the Greater New Hope Chamber of Commerce. The political structure of the town is comprised of Borough Council consisting of seven elected members, four of whom are lesbian and gay. It is a town where the LGBT community plays a very active role but where labels are rarely used to describe an individual.

In 2002, New Hope Borough Council passed a landmark ordinance making it the first borough in the state of PA to adopt a comprehensive ordinance protecting the members of its LGBT citizens. The Borough received the Human Right’s Campaign Equality Award for their actions. This one square mile town has a gay bar, but just as important all of its sixteen restaurants and bars welcome the diversity of the community. New Hope Celebrates is the weeklong gay pride celebration, which includes the Pride Parade along the main streets of the downtown.

New Hope is a charming, quaint river town that is a renowned tourist destination and a weekend country getaway for visitors from New York and Philadelphia. Its natural beauty is only surpassed by the beauty of its people who have embraced differences in individuals throughout its three-hundred-year history. Visit www.upriverproductions.com to see the trailer from the award winning documentary celebrating New Hope’s 300-year history of embracing differences in people.